Pallet Talk

A-1 Pallet Shipping Product Terminology

Following are some of the terms to assist you in describing your shipping product requirements:

SHIPPING PRODUCT TYPES

Pallet: Comprised of top boards, bottom boards and stringers.

Skid: Comprised of top boards and stringers.

Crate: Comprised of wooden frame and plywood walls with stringer bottoms for entry. Used for shipping or storage.

A-Frames: Comprised of A-Frame support trusses with a wooden side decks. Often used in Glass Industry.

Cribs: Comprised of short 2x4s fastened together on top of one another in a parallel pattern to desired height (looks like a Jenga pattern). Used in the Modular building industry or trailer industry for placing under building or trailer for temporary storage.

Pads: Comprised of 2×6 boards to create a doubled surface; often pressure treated. Used in the Modular building industry for placing under cribs under the building for temporary storage.

Reels: Comprised of cross-style wooden ends and a center shaft for storing product. Used for storing chain or long products that requires winding.

Custom Built Product: A wooden shipping product customized to fit the Customer’s product accurately; specific to the required size of length and width, the build style, board spacing, and other modifications or adaptations required.

Certified Product: A pallet or wooden shipping product built with heat treated lumber that is traceable to its source and has been stamped by a certified facility. Used for International or Overseas shipping and ideal for National shipping. Please see the CWPCP Certified Products Section

Non-Certified Product: A pallet or wooden shipping product built with green lumber or NON-traceable heat treated lumber. Used for National shipping and internal purposes.

COMPONENTS OF PALLETS & SKIDS

Top Boards: Width-wise boards fastened to the upper or top load carrying surface; often 1×4 or 1×6 lumber.

Top Spacing Allowance: Allowable space between the top boards to ensure Customer’s product stays on top of the load carrying surface. (Applicable to a skid)

Flush Sides: A pallet built with the boards and stringers or blocks flush along the sides of the pallet is the standard style; all edges of the pallet are square. (A skid can be flush)

Top-Overhang Pallet: A pallet with top boards extending beyond the outer edges of the stringers with the bottom boards flush; looks like wings on the outer stringer boards. (A skid can have top board overhang)

Double-Overhang Pallet: A pallet with top and bottom boards extending beyond the outer edges of the stringers; looks like double wings (top and bottom) on the outer stringer boards.

Lip-Overhang: An overhang on a pallet that extends from the outer edges of the length of the pallet or from the end of the stringer; often for adapting pallet to equipment in the manufacturing line. (A skid can have lip-overhang)

Board Insets: Top or bottom lead board placement inset or indented so that the stringer overhangs; often for adapting pallet to equipment in the manufacturing line. (A skid can have top board insets)

Banding Notch: A cutout groove along the stringer edge that allows banding or strapping to fit into a guided position. (Ideal for skids)

Green Lumber: Has not been heat treated and has very high moisture content.

Softwood Lumber: SPF stands for Spruce/Pine/Fir all softwoods; most commonly provided dimensional lumber from Western Canada mills. (Pallets in Western Canada are typically built with softwood lumber)

Hardwood Lumber: Lumber such as maple, ash or birch are hardwoods; most commonly provided dimensional lumber from Eastern Canada mills. (Pallets in Eastern Canada are typically built with hardwood lumber)

EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATED WITH PALLETS

Forklifts: An industrial vehicle designed to lift and carry heavy loads; a pallet assists the forklift to lift the load.

Fork Extensions: An adaption that slides onto forklift forks to assist with long, large or odd shaped loads without damaging the integrity of the pallet or its load.

Pallet Jack: An industrial tool designed to lift and move pallets; the load is pumped or jacked from the floor onto the forks of the pallet jack to allow movement.

USED PALLETS & POOL PALLETS

Whether you are looking for a new home for used pallets or you are looking to purchase used pallets A-1 Pallet is willing to ask the questions that will help you find a suitable solution for your needs.

Pool Pallets come in various formats and colour depending on which part of the world they originated from (orange, blue, green and red). The most common pool pallets in Canada are Orange and Blue. A-1 Pallet does not sell or handle either of these pool pallet styles at our facility. If you are looking for an alternative solution to a pool pallet style A-1 Pallet is happy to work with you to customize your product similar to these specifications.

RELATABLE FAQ’S

Do you buy used pallets?

A-1 Pallet does not buy used pallets; we find out what sizes you have and how many you have accumulated and if we can assist you from there we will do our best

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